Do Not Worry

A very rich man had a conversation with God just before he died. “Lord,” he said, “I’ve been blessed with a lot of wealth, more than I know what to do with. You know that I have been very generous and gracious in sharing it with my community and with my congregation as well. I’ve supported missionaries and missions, and all this I have done gladly. I hate to leave it all. Isn’t there some way that I could bring it with me?” After much back and forth with God, they finally reach an agreement. The man can bring one suitcase. But he can only bring what he can fit in that suitcase. With so many currencies to chose from, which would be the best to take to heaven? Finally he decided on gold. When the time came and the man found himself standing before St. Peter, St. Peter said, “Sorry, my friend. You’re not allow to bring anything with you.” The man explained how he was very wealthy and the deal he had made with God and after Peter checked it out he asked to see what the man brought. He proudly opened his suitcase filled with gold and Peter said, “Pavement!? Why did you bring pavement?”

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Therefore do not be anxious.”

Yeah, right. For me, I hear these words and it almost feels like one of those moments when an angel will suddenly appear out of nowhere, scare the living daylights out of whomever they happen to be appearing to and then say, “Don’t be afraid.” Really? Don’t be afraid? Well it’s a little late for that. Really? Don’t be anxious? Don’t worry? Well, it might be a little late for that.

After all, there is plenty to worry about. What do you worry about? What is it that keeps you up at night? What is it that makes your stomach uneasy? What is it that will move you to pace back and forth hoping, wishing that the situation would just be gone? Are you worried about money, jobs, something going on at school, what about your relationships, your loved ones, your friends, health, the future? Are you worried that this sermon will be long and boring?

There is certainly much to worry about, and then we hear Jesus’ words. “Don’t worry.” And then we say, “Oh. Ok. Sorry. My bad. I thought we were supposed to be worried about things. But I’ll just go ahead and stop doing that right this moment.” Right? I think there is a tendency to hear Jesus’ words and we realize how much we worry and then we, because we are Lutherans, and Lutherans are good at this, we start to feel guilt about worrying and then we begin to worry because we worry too much and feel even more guilty.

So what do we do with these words? How do we understand them? I would say there are two things to keep in mind here. But before I get to those, remember that we are still in the season of Epiphany. So we are celebrating God revealing himself through Jesus, and how the people of God live their lives. This is still part of the Sermon on the Mount and should be heard in that context.

But there are two things to keep in mind as we here Jesus’ words. The first is understanding that these verse are brining into light something that we are very good at hiding and keeping in the dark. These verses are exposing something that we don’t like to talk about or admit to. We know that it is there deep down, but we’ve become really skilled at convincing ourselves that it is not a problem and not something that needs to bother us. Yet, we also know that it isn’t right and that is what these verses are exposing, and that’s why they can be really hard for us to hear. Because what these verses are ultimately getting at is what is most important in our lives, what is it that we place our trust in? What is the god that we serve?

Luther said that a god is that from which we expect to have all good and what we take refuge in, in all distress. Now remember we do a good job of hiding this even from ourselves, but what is it that we place as gods in our lives? Is it our bank accounts? Status? Health? Our families? Having the latest greatest gadgets? Work? Religion? Church? Food? Knowledge? Being right? Because whatever it is that we place as more important in our lives than our God is a false god. None of those things, which are not bad in and of themselves, but none of those things will be able to save us. All of those things are part of the creation; they are no substitute for the creator.

Now I am not saying that we give up everything and start acting carelessly. We are to be good stewards with what God has entrusted to us. We are to love and care for our families, so of course we want the best for them. We are to use the money that God has given us to serve him and support the work that he is doing in our world. We are to seek to grow in our study and understanding of God’s word. All those things are very good, but they are no substitute for the one true God.

This is the God who loves us more than we can comprehend. This is the God who became a human being, he lived a sinless life, took our place on the cross, rose victoriously from the grave, so that we could be restored to him. Because of and for the sake of Jesus we have forgiveness, life and salvation. We are reconciled to our God and in Jesus we have life. We have life abundantly. We get to experience life in God’s kingdom. Nothing else can give us these things. Therefore we cannot put our trust in anything else.

Not only is there life in Jesus, but there is also freedom. Have you ever woke up in the morning and said, “Wow! What a beautiful morning! I can’t wait to start worrying. I wonder what I should worry about first?” Worrying is often not a pleasant experience. And this brings us to the second thing that is happening with these words of Jesus, while they are revealing and showing to us those things that we have made idols in our lives. They are also inviting us to be able to be free and to live free from that worry. What a great gift.

Now, this is not easy. We like to be in control. We like to think that we can change things if we worry about it enough. We like to want our way for everything to work out. But in Jesus’ invitation, again we are not talking about being lazy and unintelligent, but we are talking about knowing our God and his love and care for us and for his creation.

God is not something that we have to just think about for an hour on Sunday and then we can go home and get on with our lives for another week. But he is to be God in every area and aspect of our lives. And not because he is a wicked ruler that likes to be in control, but because he loves and cares for his creation. Look at the birds of the air or the flowers of the field, you are so much more valuable than they. And if God cares for them, then he will certainly care for you.

So we hear these words. We look for those things in our lives that we are placing as more important than God and we ask for forgiveness, do a 180 and ask God to free us from the burdens of worry, and to put our priorities in line with his. This is a life that is truly blessed. This is live lived in the Kingdom of God. This is life as it was meant to be lived and better than anything we can imagine.

The hard thing is that it is very different from what we have been taught to value. The world will tell us we have to have stuff to feel good. We have to have money, health, toys, knowledge, you get the idea. And yet Jesus invites us not to worry.

When Jesus extends this invitation to us, it is an invitation that allows us to live our lives with God, without the burden of the things and worries that weigh us down and it is also through these things then that our God teaches us something. And so the question to ask is; what is God teaching me right now in this moment? Perhaps He’s taking something away in your life, could it be because He is asking you not to depend on something else more than him? Could it be because He is challenging you through this taking away to take that next step, that leap of faith as you grow in your maturity of your relationship with Him. Or maybe, maybe he’s taking it away in order to call you back to those glory days where you lived your life so much differently in your faith. To remember your first love, so to speak.

I want to offer you a challenge. It will not make God love you more. You will not add to your salvation, neither does your salvation depend on it. However, it is a challenge that is very much in line with the way God called us to live. I want you to consider three things.

First, I would like to challenge you in serving your community. There are different organizations here today with opportunities to serve. This is simply doing something nice for people that God loves and showing that love in the nice things we do. Pick one. Try one, one time. That’s the challenge.

Second, I would like to challenge you to participate in the Outflow series during the season of Lent. It is not very long, you will not be by yourself in doing it. It is very worthwhile and I know that you will both enjoy and be blessed by it.

Third, I want to challenge you to give financially in support of the work that God is doing in our world. In these tough economic times there are missions and missionaries that are having a very, very hard time making ends meet. Support them. Give as a way of showing what is most important. Give a onetime kind of gift. Get together as a family and talk about where we want to give and what we want to support. It could be here, but this is something over and above your regular tithes and offerings. But it is being done for the sake of the mission and seeking first God’s kingdom.

When we seek first God’s kingdom, and align our priorities with his, well, everything else has a way of falling into place. God can certainly and indeed does handle it and take care of it. And as we accept and live out these challenges we are letting our light so shine before others that they will see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven. And that makes sense. After all, you are the salt of the earth. Seasons Greetings. Amen.

A Greater Witness

Well, here we are again. Our journey through the season of Epiphany and the celebration of God revealed in Jesus and living life in God’s kingdom and what this all about and how it is a blessing continues today. But if you thought the words of Jesus from last week were difficult, what do you think about today? I mean it is hard enough to talk about what is in our hearts as we deal with and interact with other people especially as it relates to anger, lust and oaths, but to give up our right to revenge and actually love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us; for us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. What in the world do we do with that?

Jesus’ words for today continue this pattern of you have heard that it was said, but I tell you. And then he follows it up with this idea that living out our faith is more than just physical, outward actions, but that it is really a matter of the heart.

Jesus says, “You have heard it said, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Ok well that makes sense. That actually comes from the book of Exodus. A very similar example of this is found in the code of the ancient king Hammurabi. In other words this was not uncommon and it was not unreasonable. But Jesus isn’t teaching us about common and reasonable things. He is calling us to a new way of life. A life that is lived in such a way that it reflects who God is and how God treats us. Because our God is gracious and merciful.

Therefore if someone slaps you on the cheek, which would not have just hurt, but was a really bad insult, turn to them the other cheek as well. Why? Why in the world would anyone do such a thing? Because that is how our God deals with us. We understand that God has the right to come down on us because of our sin, but he chooses instead to be gracious and merciful and forgiving. Not only that, but he took the punishment that our sins deserved upon himself. He paid the price. Because of and for the sake of Jesus the price has been paid. We have God’s forgiveness. And we can live in that, confident and sure. And being confident and sure, we can then show that to others as well. Sometimes you can make a bigger witness by choosing to be merciful than you can by claiming what you have a right to. Since this is the way that our God deals with us, it is something that should be reflected in our lives too.

Almost four years ago, I was sitting on the couch watching TV after a great big Thanksgiving dinner, and David was lying on the floor. Poor kid. He never saw it coming. I’m sure it was a pre-emptive strike, but he never saw it coming. To be honest, neither did I. There he was, just lying on the floor. He wasn’t hurting or bothering anyone. He was just there, watching the TV. When all of a sudden… BAM!! Actually, it sounded more like a THUD! A sippy cup, it almost came out of nowhere. You know how it is. It was like it just materialized and smacked the poor kid right in the middle of the head.

The sippy-cup culprit? His sweet, innocent little sister. I couldn’t believe it. There he was, just watching TV, and she toddles over to him and BOOM! Looking back, it is somewhat of a comfort, because I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone messing with my little girl. But at the time… I couldn’t just let it go.

Now you might be able to argue that David has taught his sister how to play rough. There is no counting the number of times she has been tackled, sacked, pummeled, ambushed and just plain taken out by 35 pounds of big brother moving at the speed of sound. But that day, that moment, he was just minding his own business.

Well the situation called for some parental action. But how does one discipline a one year old for hitting? How does one communicate to them that this isn’t good. That it is not right. That it is not the way that we behave, or the way that we do things. Well, the answer is simple. Time Out.

Now time out with Emily was a bit tricky, because she didn’t quite grasp the concept. I decided that I would help her. I picked her up. Firmly told her “No. No. No hit” Poor David. By this time he still had this stunned look on his face that simply said, “What did you do that for?’ I carried my little sippy-cup slugger into the other room and sat her down on the couch. She tried to get up, but I put her right back. Told her “No. No.” and gave her that look that instantly communicates seriousness.

I think it scared her. She just sat there. Looking at me. She didn’t move. These little ones are so smart. There she sat, paying the price for her sin. And in walks David. Rubbing his head. “Is she in time out?” David was no stranger to time out. I explained that she was in time out for hitting him, because hitting is something that we do not do.

I was bracing myself. Because David liked to tell people that “God wants us to be nice.” I was getting ready to explain to him that I was taking care of Emily and that he didn’t need to worry about her. But that’s not what he did.

He simply looked at me, and then, without saying a word. He walked over to his little sister, sitting there on the couch, dealing with the sin she had just committed, and he sat down right next to her. Put his arm around her, and gave her a hug. “It’s OK, Emily” he reassured her. “I love you.” “I want to be in time out too.” It is amazing isn’t it? The things that we can learn from our children.

In this part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and this would include last week’s words as well, Jesus is not giving us a new law, but calling us to a new way of life. it may not be easy, but Jesus knows all about life. He knows how to truly live and he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. That doesn’t mean have it easily, it simply means in abundance.

Part of living that abundant life then means living lives marked by mercy, grace and forgiveness. This means that we will turn the other cheek, that we will walk the extra mile, that we will in a word love. Don’t just love the people who are like you. Don’t just love the people who are your Facebook friends. Love even your enemies. Because when you love people who are like you, it is not that hard to do. But when you love your enemies, well that takes a lot of love.

We seek this out, not just because Jesus tells us to, although that would be a good enough reason in and of itself. But we seek it out because this is how our God deals with us. He loves us. Now we cannot accomplish this by an act of sheer will power. But we can by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit. We can because we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

In him we have God’s approval. In him we have righteousness. It is not our own or from us, but is given to us for his sake. He didn’t just sit in time out with us, although he did come to live among us as one of us. But he took our sins and punishment upon himself. He took our brokenness and suffering and pain and gave his life, so that we would have life and have it abundantly.

In him we can love. We can turn the other cheek instead of seeking revenge. Because we are united to him in baptism, we can love our enemies. He is with us and present in our lives. He works through his word, through baptism and communion, he is with us in one another. He will never leave us or forsake us or give up on us. Living this life of love is not easy. But in Christ we have all that we need to do so, and I am convinced that there is no other way to live. And in living our life this way we let our light shine.

You are the salt of the earth. Seasons greetings. Amen.

A Matter of the Heart

Wow! I think that is probably an appropriate response to the words of Jesus here. Wouldn’t you agree? I mean these are some strong words on some strong topics. Anger, Lust, Oaths; Jesus doesn’t hold anything back. Not exactly the kinds of things that you might expect to hear a sermon on the day before Valentine’s day, and yet here we are.

Remember that as we are looking at these readings there are a few things that we need to keep in mind. The first is that we are still in the season of Epiphany and celebrating how we see God revealed in Jesus, and Jesus revealed in his people. The second is that these verses are part of a sermon that Jesus gave, that we know as the Sermon on the Mount. So they would not necessarily be read in isolation like we are doing today. Keeping that in mind helps us in our understanding and interpretation of the reading for today.

Remember also that Jesus is talking about living life in God’s kingdom and what that life looks like. We have been talking about what it means to be blessed. Being blessed in God’s kingdom is truly being blessed even though it will not look that way in the eyes of the world. As we live life in this kingdom we live life as God’s people in the world; we live life for the sake of the world. Therefore we are salt and light.

So these next verses fill out that picture a little bit more as Jesus tells us what life looks like in that kingdom. But really, we should go back to verses 17 – 20. This is where Jesus tells us that he has not come to get rid of the law, but to fulfill it. And that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the religious leaders and gurus, well you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

It is at this point that he begins to talk about anger, lust, divorce and oaths. And what Jesus is getting at here is not just the way that we live our lives and the outward appearances that we give. But what is ultimately at issue here is our hearts. What is in the heart? That is what is going on. See, this ends up being the perfect Valentine’s day text.

Living out our faith (righteousness) is not just a matter of doing things on the outside and making sure that we are going through the right actions and the right motions. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day took God’s law and turned it into nothing more than a check list. Do this, don’t do that. It is not just a matter of a good appearance. But what is really important, and what really matters is where the heart is. Righteousness must exceed the simple keeping of a check list. Even though the list that was made was not necessarily an easy one to follow.

For Jesus we do not keep the law in our outward actions, but in our hearts. So where is your heart? How are you doing? How are we doing? Don’t worry. You don’t have to raise your hand or fill out the interest sheet, you can answer the questions in your heart.

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said do not murder. But I tell you do not be angry with a brother or sister.” Most of us have never killed another person, but how many of us have been selfishly angry? Maybe you didn’t like something that a neighbor or a family member did. Maybe you didn’t like something that took place in a worship service or at a sporting event. How did you respond? What did you do? Do we insult, or complain or hold grudges or gossip?

Perhaps you have heard, or have even said at some point in your life that sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Of course we know full well that words can cause a lot of pain. And that is the point. What we say, especially about others is a reflection of what is in our hearts. Do you see the connection here? Do you see why this matters and is important?

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said do not commit adultery. But I tell you that if you look at another with lust in your heart you have committed adultery.” Believe it or not, in Jesus’ day marriage was not as highly valued as it is today. I know that that is not saying a lot. For a lot of people marriage was not about love or commitment or God’s intent for how human beings are to live life together or a reflection of God’s love and relationship with his people. For a lot of people marriage was a financial thing that was entered into for money. So you can imagine that there were a lot of unhappy people as a result looking for a fix.

The Message does this nicely. “Don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. “ Again we are talking about a matter of the heart. What we do in our hearts, in our thoughts in this case, is just as important as what we do in real life. It matters. It is important.

We see this same idea come out in Jesus’ words about oaths. The point is that we should not utter our words deceitfully. Don’t commit to something when you don’t plan on following through. These things matter and are important, because ultimately they are matters of the heart.

So what do we find in our hearts? Well, if we are honest with ourselves, not much that we can be proud of. It’s much easier to point it out in the world, or in other people, it is much more difficult to be honest about this stuff being in our own hearts as well. But it is there. Our lives may be absent from the outward kinds of actions that Jesus talks about, but what about what is in our heart?

Sin is serious business. It is not something that we write off or ignore. It is not something that we can pretend isn’t a problem or make ourselves feel better because at least I am not as bad a sinner as that person over there, let me tell you what I saw them do.

Sin is serious business because it breaks and destroys relationships. It separates us from God and from one another. It makes it impossible for us to live and experience the kind of life that God wants us to live and experience. We know that it is serious because of the hyperbole that we see Jesus using here. If a part of your body causes you to sin, cut it off.

But again, at the end of the day it all comes down to the heart. And that is the point to understand here. Because we are all sinners, that means we all are in need of God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness. We are all in need of Jesus.

His sinless life, death on the cross, resurrection from the grave and ascension into heaven mean that the sins in our life, both the “big” outward actions, and the seemingly “small” inward actions of the heart, have been paid for. God will not count them against us. The righteousness of Jesus is given to us. This means that we can stand before God confidently, not because our hearts are good enough on their own or we do enough or give enough. But because Jesus did enough and we have in him the gift of forgiveness, life and salvation.

Feel like a weight has been lifted? Yes. That is the thing about living life in God’s kingdom. We experience this forgiveness. Even though we experience brokenness in our lives and world, in Jesus God gives and works healing, forgiveness and reconciliation.

And where God gives and works healing and forgiveness and reconciliation with us and him, we then have what we need to be able to live our lives together with healing and forgiveness and reconciliation. That is we are able to live lives together where we love one another. What Jesus is doing here is not giving us a new law, but calling us to a better way of life.

People like to place themselves above other people, we like to be better than the rest. But the fact of the matter is, here, in this place there is not one person who is better or more important than the rest. We may have different, jobs, roles and gifts, but that is because each of those things are needed for this community of faith to be healthy, strong and to grow. As we live our lives together, as we live out our faith together, we show a reality that is different from the one that our world knows. We show life with hope and forgiveness and healing.

Because that is what it means and what it is to live life with our God. Now we will not always do this perfectly. We will make mistakes, we will mess up, we will sin. But life isn’t about attaining a state of sinlessness, that is not possible this side of the grave. Instead life is about living in God’s grace and sharing that grace and making it known in our words and in our actions. So that others might also know of God’s love and grace and mercy in Jesus. It is really an awesome thing. God heals our hearts because of and for the sake of Jesus, so that we can then love one another. And in loving and caring for each other and the world around us, we are making God’s love known.

Of course that makes perfect sense. After all, you are the salt of the earth. Seasons greetings. Amen.

Seasons Greetings

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” These are words that we probably know quite well. We hear them on a fairly regular basis. At least some of them. Whenever a person is baptized here Jesus’ words are shared as the candle which is lit from the Christ candle is passed on to the newly baptized. “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

But what do these words of Jesus mean? And why are we suddenly talking about them now? What exactly is going on here? Well, for starters it is the assigned text. That makes it pretty simple. These verses were selected for this Sunday in the season of Epiphany. They fit well for the season of Epiphany because, as we have said before, the season of Epiphany is a celebration of God revealing himself through Jesus. But it doesn’t stop there. Because, for whatever reason, this same Jesus has chosen to reveal himself through his people, his body, the church. Jesus, who is the light who shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it, reveals himself through his people, through you and me, who are the light of the world, therefore let your light so shine before others… You are the salt of the earth… it’s really a very cool kind of a thing.

You see, these verses are part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. They go together with the verses we read last week and with the ones that we will be reading over the next three weeks or so. They were meant to be read all at once, or better yet to be heard all at once, but time does not allow for us to do it that way, and doing it bit by bit also gives us a chance to unpack and appreciate it a little more. But you don’t want to lose sight of the context that Jesus is speaking in.

Here he is, kind of new on the scene. It wasn’t that long since he was baptized and tested in the wilderness. Now he is going around talking about the kingdom of heaven and healing people, forgiving sins and driving out demons. In addition to that he is teaching. And his teachings are very important. Because what Jesus is teaching about here is life lived in the kingdom of God, and as you have heard me say so many times before, and will continue to hear me say, this is life the way that it was intended to be lived. This is the only real way to live. This is life full and abundant. This is life with purpose. But it is not life about us. It is not life where we are number one and most important, so living the kind of life that Jesus talks about here is a struggle. But it is also well worth it.

We saw the beginning of Jesus’ teaching on this last week with the beatitudes. Jesus was talking about the blessed life and how that life looks so very different from what the world would look for, want or consider to be blessed. And, yet, there is no other way to live. Do you remember what the last beatitude was? Blessed are you when people revile you, and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad.

Why? Why on earth would we rejoice and be glad over this? Why would we want this? Because, this was the way they treated the prophets and you are the salt of the earth. These words of Jesus come down through time and they are also for you and me. You are the salt of the earth. This is what you are. This is not; you have the salt of the earth. This is not; you should really try to be the salt of the earth. But it is; you are the salt of the earth.

You are the salt of the earth because that is what the Holy Spirit has made you to be. In the waters of Baptism, where God made you his own dearly loved sons and daughters, he made you salt. Now you don’t ever have salt for the sake of the salt. Salt is best when it is out of the salt shaker and is in use. To be the salt of the earth means that we are salt for the sake of the earth. It is almost as if Jesus has an eye on the great commission that he will give to the church at the end of this Gospel. Being salt is for the world, not for the sake of the salt. In other words it s seasoning. It makes something better.

This is not a status thing. This is not Jesus saying that you are the best people in the whole world. In fact you are better than anyone else out there. Rather, being the salt of the earth is a statement of function. You are in the world to add zest to the life of the whole world. You are like the red hot pepper of the world. We, the church, are here in this world, not for the sake of the church, but for the sake of the world. We are here because God loves the world. He loves the world so very much that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him, might not parish, but have everlasting life.

You are the salt of the earth. Pretty cool huh? By the way, do you know how the salt greets the pepper? “Season’s greetings.” Maybe we should start to greet one another this way. It would remind of us why we are here. It is no mistake. It is no accident. This is the work of God. You are the salt of the earth.

But if the salt loses its saltiness, than it is useless. If we, as the church, are here for the sake of adding zest to the life of the whole world; that is, if we are here to make known, and to show God’s love and grace and mercy and forgiveness in Jesus and we get caught up in and focused on anything else, well than we are about as useless as un-salty salt. Now that is not necessarily a threat, although it is a warning. It is easy for us as sinful human beings to get caught up in things that are less than what God has in mind for us. It is easy for us to seek our will and what we want, especially in matters of church life. But it is not about us. It is not our will be done.

If life in the church is all about you and what you want and what makes you happy, then you are missing the point. If we are here because we like to consume this particular brand of Christianity, then we are here for the wrong reasons. If we are here to preserve the past, or at least our selective understanding of the past, and to keep things in our image, then we are not living out Jesus’ words here.

But if we are here because we understand that we are a broken and imperfect people, and that we need the grace, love and forgiveness that our God freely gives us in Jesus. If we understand that we are here because our gracious God calls, gathers and enlightens us, and that he daily and richly forgives us all our sins. If we are here because we are people who need that love and forgiveness, and who humbly receive it and all the wholeness and life that our God abundantly gives us in Jesus.

Then it is when we live in this reality that we understand what it means to be salt. Because our world is broken, it is a world that is tragically filled with suffering, and injustice. It is a world where sin and selfishness reign. But in the church we live with a different reality. We live in a reality where there is healing and hope and forgiveness. We live in a reality where there is the promise of a day where there will be no more of that brokenness, where there will be no more suffering or sickness or injustice.

The hope that we have of that reality fills our lives today, right now, and it impacts the way that we live. It impacts the way we live life together, and the way that we live life with the other people that God has placed into our lives. This is what it means to be salt. This is why being salt is so very important. It is who you are, by grace, in Jesus to be.

In the same way you are the light of the world. Therefore let your light so shine before others that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven. The light that shines in you is not light that comes from you as much as it is light that shines through you. Because when people see your good deeds they give glory, not to you, but to your Father in heaven.

I believe that if the church firmly grasped and sought to live out this identity, as much as it is possible for imperfect people to do, that we would have a different role in our world. I would love for the church to be such a place that when people in the community drove by the building they would say, “This community is a better place because those people are here.” I would love for the church to be a place where anyone can walk through our doors and know and see and be reassured that God loves them.

That love is for you and me too. God gives it to us constantly. He then uses us to share that with others. The great thing in all of this is that we don’t have to wait to get our act together first. It’s not that you have to go to salt and light school to learn how to do it. It is simply who you are in Jesus. So be what God has created you to be. Be about the things that God has placed you here to be about. And as you live this out you will know a joy and peace that surpasses all human understanding. You will know life that is really, truly and fully blessed.

Season’s greetings. Amen.